Clearing the Game at the End of the World

Chapter 76: In the Name of Honor (10)

Hisssssss

Thunk.

Ughhhh

Sometimes on Community, there are some people that say Theres nothing easier in this world than playing video games as a job, and those people have definitely never tried this job before. Unless its a really dangerous area, you can go just about anywhere, like a walk in the park, if you have a big gun. And the mutants in real life dont infect you like the ones in the game.

Huh? Hepburn? Youre out early.

Did you come out to eat? Just in time. Lets eat together.

He was stretching after crawling out of the game pod when Vex and Ian, who were sweating and breathing hard for whatever reason, greeted him on the couch. Seeing that the decompression chamber was whirring, they must have been working outside.

Food? What food?

Lunch. I know theres a meal feature in the game pod, but its not as filling as an actual meal outside.

Oh lunch. Its only about noon then.

That was one of the biggest problems with playing GG. Time flows differently. After waking up in the morning, parting ways with Anaya, and walking to the church, it was about 2 pm in game. Then after all of the shenanigans with Senadis and talking with his new allies made it well after sundown. So if it was from about 6 am to 8 pm, thats 14 hours, but since its a 1:5 ratio, while I went through all of that in game, only 2.8 hours passed in reality, just 2.8 hours.

Hepburn? You look tired.

UghhhhhIm dying over here. My bodys fine, but Im mentally exhausted. You know, like when youre tired and want to sleep at night, but you stay up until 56 am.

Oh, that. Of course, I know. Ive had insomnia before.

Bulls***. Not being able to sleep at night just means you are lazy during the day. Ive never had trouble sleeping for the 35 years Ive been alive.

Dont go outside and utter those words. Youre going to get yourself shot by the countless people in the Wastelands that have insomnia.

Kehehehe. Tell them to try if they can. Im not scared of some lanky wimps that cant even close their eyes and breathe right.

His mindless chattering with these guys made the headache fade a bit. He could just sleep if he was tired, but it was a disgrace as a Wasteland survivor to sleep when the sun was still high. Doing something should make him feel better.

Ill go right back in after I feel better. Its not like theres a cooldown anymore.

Gyosu awkwardly twitched his thumb as he thought from his thumb to his ring finger. Aside from his pinky, his control over all of the other fingers were taken over by Hyde, so it was basically as if he lost a hand. This would have been an extremely big emergency if it had been before, but he didnt feel in danger at all. It must be because Hyde is being cooperative.

Are you doing that on purpose?

[I dunno. *shrug*]

He didnt respond to my question and just quietly laughedthat creepy bastard. I dont know who he learned that from.

[Do you like cursing at the mirror?]

F*** off Hyde. Im a kind person, unlike you.

His left hand started to squirm to that response, and the middle finger stuck straight up. He was joking around with this guy, but looking at this, he could feel that his situation was dangerous.

Theres no reason to rush, but I cant relax either. If he takes over an entire arm, I might actually need to start negotiating with Hyde.

[I cant wait for that day to come. *snicker*]

Gyosu ignored Hydes ominous comment and stretched his hand toward the steaming calorie bar on the table that Koduro had just made. Its sweet with a slightly crunchy texture. Its sweet potato And carrot? He took some care with it today.

It seemed like Vex liked it, but Ian wanted more than the calorie bar. After shoving the entire thing into his mouth, his expression darkened with every chew.

Damn it. I cant eat this.

Why? I like it.

Dont you dare spit that out. How dare you judge the taste of these precious crops that I grew. Chew. And swallow.

Exactly. I cant believe New Master insulted the crops me and Master took so much care to grow. Maybe he needs some education and experience about the hardships of being a farmer?

Pzzzt-zzt!

UmGyosu, I think your AI has a few screws loose.

Under the threat of Koduro, who had taken out a small welder from his drone, and Gyosu, who was shifting his gaze between Ian and the fertilizer bin, Ian managed to finish his share of the calorie bar.

Ughhh. How can you eat just grass for lunch, the most important meal of the day? Herbivore mother****ers.

Then what did you eat until now?

Me? Raptors military rations, or food I looted when I went to go do business. Even I eat potatoes.

[Loot] you got from [business] Doesnt something sound wrong there to you?

Glug, glug

Hahhhh.

Whatever. Were rich now. I guess I can feed them meat now.

Koduro, bring me two more glasses of water.

Yessir!

Now that his stomach was full and he got some water to rinse it all down, he was finally starting to relax and regain his awareness of his surroundings. Seeing a little shade outside near the greenhouse area, he could assume what the two have been doing outside.

Did the shelter materials already come?

Hm? Oh, that? Yeah. Delivery came a bit after you went in to work. Its fun for the three of us to live here, but the place is indeed a little cramped. Your sofa is too small for me to sleep in. Im having back pains every morning because of that.

We didnt completely set it up yet; we just built up one of the walls to see where we should place it. Is that spot okay Hepburn?

Uhh Im not sure. We might need to make some calculations. And we need to consider the active defense range of the defense turrets too.

Arent we going to have a separate turret?

Exactly, so itll be a loss if the protected areas overlap. Its a much better idea to expand the area if were not trying to make it a kill zone.

It was another hour of scuffling about the location of the shelter. Time had no thought of passing when he used to be in this shelter alone, but seeing how fast time passed these days, he was a little surprised. Even with all the scuffles, he couldnt deny that he depended on them.

I guess I can ask them since I depend on them and all.

Vex.

Huh? Yeah?

You said you were from Gong 3, right?

Yeah? The 3rd Airborne Division.

And Ian, you were obviously probably a soldier too.

Oh, didnt I tell you? I was a mercenary. Since the start of the war was in North Korea, I came to Korea, where the battlefield was the hottest. Why, you wanna hear about it?

Uh Next time. I have a little too much on my plate right now to listen to someone elses backstory. Since everyone has experience in the army, you guys should know the basics of how a unit operates. If you guys survived until the end of the war, then you would have at least become a sub-lieutenant.

Mhm. Right. Just starting with me

Ive been promoted up to colonel before. Although it wasnt during the war.

What. Colonel? That maniac bomber jawhead?

Whaat?

IIan, you had a star? Wait, its more than one if youre a colonel.

Kehehehe, do I look any different now? You little wimps. Go on, salute to me.

Qquit that bulls***! Youre just old!

YYeah! The higher ups were always getting cut out during the Great War! They probably put you there because they needed a placeholder! And ranks dont even matter that much to me because I was in special ops!

Even thinking that, Gyosu imagined Ian in a uniform with several medals on his chest. With black sunglasses and a cigar in his mouth he was snickering like he always does whilst pressing a red button. Damn it. He fits perfectly. It was like he was born for that position.

Anyway, thats convenient. He should know better than me if he was a colonel.

Okay. Then help me out will you?

Hm? With what?

Its about the game. I have a thing where I need to operate a sort of special ops forces, but theres a bit of a problem.

Ian seemed to have lost interest hearing the word game, but then regained his enthusiasm once he heard the word special ops.

A special ops forces you say. How many soldiers, what type, and the objective?

There might be some adjustments since we didnt start yet, but there are about ten people so far.

Ten plus alpha Then its about a platoon. The objective?

Assassination of the enemys commander in chief.

Huh?

Yeah, thats exactly how youre supposed to react.

Ians bewildered reaction to what Gyosu just said made Gyosu feel something deep inside him become satisfied. Its always nice for someone to acknowledge your pain.

I know it doesnt logically make sense, but lets just say thats whats happening. Its a game, remember? Were knights that are on a mission to defeat the big bad evil man, or woman.

Uhh, mmm. Okay. Sure. I guess it would be possible if all ten of the members can each output the firepower of a company by themselves. So what type of troops are there?

Three infantry that can draw the enemys attention at the front and six wizards, or artillery capable of massive firepower projection.

Ian, who grimaced at the word infantry, brightened when he heard that the rest of the troops were artillery.

Thats not bad. You said it isnt an all-out battle, but an assassination. So you could use the three infantry to lure out the target, then make the artillery wait in the back and shoot the target by setting an estimated contact location. I dont know about the other parts, but Id call it a pass that you have artillery. Artillery is basically the god of the battlefield!

This guy. Hes gotten brainwashed by the Korean guys that artillery is some kind of foolproof hand. Ive thought up to that part too. But theres a problem starting with the next point.

The artillery is pretty useful, but they have a big flaw.

Flaw? What, they arent experienced?

Mmm first of all, theres a problem with the supply. These bastards are really picky eaters. So its going to be difficult to keep up their firepower up to the point where the commander in chief is.

Ian just laughed at Gyosus explanation as if that was nothing.

Aw, you made me think it was something serious. Starving them will solve it. Give them something to eat after starving them. Theyll scarf that all up then lick their fingers too.

No. Ive seen it with my own eyes, and theyll rather starve to death than eat something else. It has to be fish or some kind of food that lives in water.

Even if they die?

Yeah. And they lose their efficiency anywhere thats dry.

What kind of bulls*** is that?

Yep. I thought the same thing while I was trying to plan out this mission with these mages involved.

I need to pass through three captured cities with these guys. Do I really need to give them raw fish and seafood for each meal?

Speed and stealth are key factors of an infiltration mission. They should be moving day and night at full speed and get by on hardtack at most, but no, they would have to find a body of water and fish for food. So if theres no water, then theyll have to starve. And that means the paths of infiltration are limited as well.

The moment you travel with mages, the entire group now has a limitation on their course of travel. Overall, mages are not fit for active missions like these.

Theres another problem.

You already sound screwed but theres more?

Yeah. One of the artilleries(mages) is a commander from the enemy side. A dark mage.

Uh by commander, do you mean they changed sides? Or were they captured and forcefully brought there?

Lets see. Usually, a dark mage captured by the Lights Order is executed without any questions asked, but seeing that they attempted to reguide him, he didnt commit a crime. It looks like he was captured because he was a dark mage. But theres no way he could have learned dark magic alone, right? Maybe he has a connection with the ones associated with the mutation blood?

Gyosu thought for a moment, and then spoke again, shaking his head.

Its not confirmed yet, but they werent captured as the enemy. Theres a chance that they are a spy.

So the higher ups didnt give you the information. Well you can infer from how the prisoner is treated. Does that guy have a bunch of riches and enjoying his life with some babes?

Uh No? They forced him naked and shaved his hair saying that his mind needs to be cleansed.

What the fu**.

Ian waved his hands as if there was nothing more to think about it.

Why do you think they treat the prisoners of war so well? Its so that they feel safe so that theyll cooperate better. But what? They took off his clothes and shaved their head? If it was me, it would have betrayed them right away. Hey, the moment the mission starts, take them to a shady alleyway and just shoot them. Say that he went MIA. And theyre artillery too. If you leave them be, theyll leave to snitch everything to their side after starting a fire in the gunpowder storage.

Mmm I guess it is a little dangerous to take a dark mage with us

Ill keep that one on hold then. Im going to need to have a talk with him when I go back in.

Then next problem.

Another one?

The rest arent that serious. Most of the troops are from Rodrick, and theyre pretty f***ing racist. And two of the troops are races that are discriminated.

My goodness? Discrimination too? Guys that need to depend their lives on each other on the battlefield?

And one of the two has a pretty low intelligence. They are trying their best to learn, but its going to be hard to put them into any complicated operation.

F*** it! I quit! Tell them you quit too! Normal civilians would be easier to command than this!

When he mentioned the werewolf and Notum, Ian ultimately gave up on thinking altogether.

This isnt a proper mission! Are you in your right mind, accepting this thing? Tell them that youre quitting right away!

Ill die if I do.

The troops are in that state and they told you that theyll kill you if you quit?

Damn. Hepburn. Thats rough buddy.

TssTssk

Sighhh

While Vex was patting Gyosus back, Ian lit a cigarette he got from his pocket.

Yeah. Thats a rough situation you have there. Im sorry I couldnt help, but I seriously dont see a way. Why dont you try to start a coup with that group instead? I see a bit of hope in that scenario.

I agree. Even Sun Tzu would want to go back to his grave if he came back alive to this.

Pft! Whats that even supposed to mean.

I didnt really get an answer out of that, but I definitely do feel better.

Gyosu laughed as he chugged the rest of the water in the glass before he spoke again.

I didnt really say this for an actual answer to be honest. I just needed to vent. Talking about it with other people makes the load a little lighter.

So, did it get lighter?

Nope. I learned how f***ing s***ty my situation is and got an even bigger headache.

Kehehehe. Thats just how the world rolls pal. Nothing in this world ever goes as planned. You just need to adapt to it one by one. You can do it on your own. From my experience, youre somehow going to find a way no matter how bad the situation is.

Yeah, youre right. Nothings gonna get solved if I just sit here all day.

Gyosu sighed as he got up from the sofa. He ate and sort of cleared up his mind.

Are you going back in?

I need to move quickly. He already took my thumb. Its not mine anymore.

Alright. Good luck. Well be looking in our own ways too. We might meet some people who know something about it while we do business.

Okay. I hope so. Are you guys doing anything else other than building the shelter today?

Yeah. Were going to take a look around Area 47.

Dont go around like you did in Area 43! You have the thing I gave you, right?

To Gyosus exclamation, Ian took out a notepad from his pocket that was filled to the brim with notes.

Dont worry. Ill read it every 10 minutes.

No, tell Vex to hold it. Vex, I dont need to tell you right? Take care of them.

Do I look like some idiot thatll lose a notepad?

No, not that. I was saying to take care of the man called Metal Jaw that seems to react with their holster faster than their brain.

You little bastard.

Kehe. Ill try my best. Ill try.

Gyosu tightly squeezed Vexs hands as a meaning of thanks and then walked to the room with the game pod.

Ill need to set my rest times from now too. I should at least play till sundown if I start in the morning. That should make it somewhat match up with the time outside too.

And I should try not to rage quit next time. Dont forget. You dont have time, Gyosu Park.

[Hehehe. I think its fine if you take thing slowly.]

Shut up will you.

Hisssssssthunk.

After lying down in the pod, Gyosu closed his eyes.

First, Ill figure out all of the limitations first. I can get a map to figure out the routes, and the enemys information maybe they have that at the Moon Shadow?

Im already getting a headache and havent even started yetthis damn game. I cant even complain because the games fun the more stressed I get.

Whoosh!

With the familiar loading sound, Gyosus consciousness faded once more.

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